


Empathy

by PerpetualFangirl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Amara (mentioned) - Freeform, Awkward is cute, Case, Castiel is sweet as sugar, Dean is a dick, Empath, F/M, Fluff, Love, Romance, Sex, Swearing, eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-03-08 22:23:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18903844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerpetualFangirl/pseuds/PerpetualFangirl
Summary: Ellie turned into a recluse after being unable to handle the emotions of the people around her. Being an empath can be hard.Dean and Sam Winchester need help tracking Amara, and the best way they can find the sister of God is by using Ellie's ability to track emotions.But with the brothers being so rushed and emotionally involved, Ellie's one reprieve is the soothing presence of the angel Castiel. She finds herself drawn to him and his calmness. Spending that much time with someone is bound to turn into something. Even with an angel of the lord.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey All. 
> 
> It's been a while since I wrote a fanfiction. I just binged watch Supernatural and have all these ideas in my head so I decided to write them. None of them are edited or beta read, so please forgive any mistakes. I'm trying to stick to the story as much as possible, but this is really just going to be a fluff piece. Maybe a few chapters just to get my creativity flowing.
> 
> I'm having a major writers block on my book and need to feel somewhat productive. So... Enjoy!

I don’t remember exactly when it started.

There’s not a distinct before and after. All I know is ever since I can remember, I have felt the emotions of everyone I meet.

It had come in handy over the years, alerting me to when my college boyfriend was cheating on me, or when I got fired from my first job after college. But over the years, it had started to get overwhelming. I could tune it out sometimes, but if I was stressed or sick it was like being battered.

The most irritating part was not being able to distinguish which emotions were mine and which emotions I was just picking up on. This led me to basically becoming a recluse. I got a job that allowed me to work from home, away from any sort of physical proximity to people and I distanced myself from my friends. My family lived in another state, so I never had to worry about them.

So here I was. Thirty years old, single, working a full time job researching from the comfort of my living room with my cat by my side and having groceries and everything else I needed delivered. It wasn’t a bad life, it was just… boring.

A knock at the door broke me out of my thoughts. I sighed and ignored it. Going to the door was something that I refused to do unless absolutely necessary. But when the door knob began to move and it sounded like someone was unlocking my door, I jumped up and grabbed the nearest thing to me as a weapon. It happened to be a large wrought iron candle holder that I had found on an online flea market.

Walking slowly towards the front door, I pushed some loose strands of black hair that had escaped my pony tail.

Great, I was about to get robbed or murdered and I was going to die wearing a tank top, sleep shorts and holding a candle stick as if it would protect me.

I rolled my eyes but then jumped back as the door swung open. I held my make shift weapon in front of me as my eyes pinched closed, the emotions of the people in my doorway punching into my head and making me dizzy.

“Woah woah, sweetheart. Put down the weapon.” A deep, gravelly voice called. “We aren’t going to hurt you.”

I opened my eyes to see a broad man standing in front of me, his suit jacket slightly disheveled and a cut ran along his freckled cheek bone. He held a hand gun and it was pointing right at me.

“Who the hell are you?” I asked, the panic rising in my voice. “And why the fuck did you just break into my house?”

“Are you Ellie?” A softer voice came from behind the broad man. At my nod, the tall man stepped forward, his long dark hair falling across his brow. “Ellie, my name is Sam, and this is my brother Dean. Can you put down the candle stick so we can talk for a moment?”

Dean lowered his gun as Sam stepped forward to take the wrought iron from my clenched fist. I stepped backwards, trying to remember all the tricks I used to ignore emotions. The emotions coming off of these two were intense. I was suddenly extremely angry and scared and felt a crushing sense of despair coming from the first man.

The brothers stepped farther into the room, revealing another man standing on my steps wearing a suit and a beige trench coat. It struck me as odd since it was the middle of the summer, but this wasn’t a normal situation. Judging by the emotions rolling off of the men, this was going to be a weird day.

The slightly shorter man stepped forward and I expected to be bombarded by more emotions but suddenly, there was nothing. I no longer felt the anger and despair from the brothers, all I felt was an overwhelming peace.

I stared at the dark haired man, meeting his blue eyes with mine before stepping closer to him.

“Who… who are you?” I stuttered, willing myself to step away from the peace emanating from him. I had never met a person who didn’t affect me, or affected me in such a positive way.

He smiled slightly at me, a small grin just barely tipping up the corner of his mouth. “My name is Castiel.” His deep voice rumbled through the room.

“Dean, Sam and… Castiel. What can I do for you?” I shook my head and did my best to ignore the feelings.

“Maybe we should go sit down.” Sam suggested, gesturing to the chairs behind me.

I nodded and sat, watching the men all take a seat around my table. Unconsciously, I leaned towards Castiel, my brain desperate for the break.

“This is going to be difficult to explain…” Sam started, seeming to wrack his brain for a good explanation.

Dean huffed, “There’s nothing difficult about it.” He turned to me with a glare. “We need your help. You are literally the only person we can find like you and we’re running out of options.”

A wave of his frustration hit me and I sat as far back in my seat as I could. “What do you mean ‘like me’?”

Castiel cleared his throat, “Dean, maybe you should wait outside.” He suggested.

“I’m not waiting outside for you two to take longer than necessary to explain to her what’s happening. We need to find Amara and this is the only way to do it.” Dean’s voice raised in anger the more he spoke.

“Amara, who’s Amara?” I was confused. It was obviously a serious situation, but there was no way that I could help. “I don’t see how I can help you. I research for a University. I don’t know an Amara.”

Dean opened his mouth to speak again but his brother rested a hand on his shoulder and led him outside.

I breathed a sigh of relief, the only emotions left in the room being Castiel’s. I scooted my chair closer to his.

“Ellie?” I looked up to find him looking at me. “Do you… feel people?”

My mouth dropped open. “What do you mean?”

“You were uncomfortable with Dean being in here. I’m not very experienced with human emotion, but I understand that they can be strong.”

“Human? You say that as if you’re not.” 

“That’s because I’m an angel of the lord.” Castiel said, completely seriously. I gaped at him, waiting for the punchline but none came.

“That’s impossible.”

“It’s not. Although Dean’s anger was unwarranted, he was correct. We do not have the time to do this gently.” Castiel said before looking down quickly. When his eyes met mine again, they were glowing with a bright blue light.

“Holy shit!” I exclaimed, jumping up from my chair. “That’s not… what the fuck.”

“I don’t know what is holy about excrement, but the fact remains. I am an angel of the lord and you are the most powerful empath that I have come across in a very long time.” He gestured for me to sit again and leaned closer to me when I did, allowing his soothing emotions to wash over me again. “To make this as simple as possible, emotions are tied to the soul. If a person has no soul, they would not have emotions, which you would be able to detect. Amara is someone, something that can consume souls. She leaves the person alive, but they have no emotions, no morals and tend to do terrible things.” 

“So you want me to find the people who I can’t feel anything from?” I raised an eyebrow at him, too smothered by his calmness to not believe him.

“Essentially, yes. If we can find them, maybe we can track her.” He reached over a rested his hand on mine, adding another jolt of calmness that relaxed me utterly.

“Okay.” I mumbled, my eyelids drooping. “I can help.”

He left me then, leaving me to get dressed and pack a bag. He took the calm with him, though, and by the time I was packed and ready to go, I was on the verge of panicking. I took a deep breath and made my way outside, seeing Dean, Sam and Castiel standing next to a sleek black car.

Impatience emanated from Sam and Dean so strongly that I gasped. Castiel walked over to me, washing away the discomfort. “Maybe it would be a good idea if you went with me?” he said softly, eyeing the two other men. “You seem to be more comfortable with me.”

I nodded and followed him to a truck. An angel that drove a pick up. I almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

We drove in silence, following the brother’s Impala. Castiel kept shooting glances at me, a curious expression on his face.

“What?” I asked, not being able to take it any more.

His brow furrowed, “Why is it that you’re more comfortable with me? Sam is usually the one with the people skills.”

I chuckled lightly, embarrassed to have to explain. “Feeling emotions like this can be extremely overwhelming,” I explained. “Maybe it’s because you’re not human but I don’t feel anything but peace from you.” I scooted closer to him on the bench seat. “It’s… refreshing. It’s like being shot full of quick acting Ativan.”

He nodded, “It makes sense. Being an angel, you wouldn’t be able to pick up on my emotions as easily. Even then, it would probably only be the positive ones.” He shifted in his seat.

“I’m sorry. Does it make you uncomfortable that I keep leaning towards you? I don’t do it intentionally.” I started to move back when Castiel put his hand on my arm. 

“Don’t worry about it. It’s nice. And I’m happy to help.”

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.


	2. Chapter 2

The plan was, as Castiel explained it, pretty straight forward. We were going to drive around for a while, I would walk around a crowded area, point them in the direction of people I couldn’t feel anything from and then Sam and Dean would follow that person and find out if they came in contact with this Amara chick.

I didn’t really understand how this would help in any way, but they were determined it would.

I spent a few hours being virtually attacked by every emotion and feeling known to mankind before I finally had enough. My heart hurt and my brain felt like it was going to implode.

“I… I can’t do this anymore.” I mumbled, holding back the tears threatening to overflow.

Sam placed a soothing hand on my shoulder. Since I couldn’t feel much around Castiel, he had to wait in the car. “Maybe we should take a little break. Let’s get some coffee or something.”

Dean sighed impatiently, “We don’t have time. We have to keep going.”

I shook my head, “No. Please. I need to be done.” Tears started falling in heavy streams down my face. “It’s too much.”

“Cas.” Sam called lightly.

It wasn’t two seconds later that a heard a fluttering of wings and the soothing presence of the angel enveloped me again. I breathed a sigh of relief, not even caring when I stepped forward into the arms of Castiel. His hand cupped the back of my head as he wrapped his other arm around me. “Sam, Dean, you should of called sooner.”

“Castiel, we don’t have time. She wasn’t able to find us even one person.” Dean argued. I never met this man in my life and he was already getting on every last nerve.

I pulled away from Castiel, wiping at the tears still lingering on my cheeks. “Listen buddy, I’m trying to help you and I’m sorry if I need a goddamn minute but you’re going to have to wait.”

Sam bit back a laugh and Castiel rested his hand on my back.

“You don’t understand the importance of this, Ellie. We need to find Amara.” Dean stepped forward threateningly and I felt a trickle of fear run through me.

“Can you all just explain to me what the hell is going on. Who is she? Why is it so important for you to find her?”

The explanation that I received then was beyond anything in even fiction. We sat on a bench while Sam went to go get coffee. “This can’t be real. Gods sister? Actually?”

Dean nodded with a grimace. “I’m sorry for being so angry, but we have to do this.”

When Sam returned with the coffee, my resolve strengthened with each sip of hot caffeine. “Okay. Let’s try this again.”

“Are you sure?” Castiel asked, concern softening his features. “We can try again tomorrow.”

The glare the angel received from Dean was enough to make me answer with a quick shake of my head. “No. Let’s just do this.” I finished my coffee and threw the cup into the garbage can. Standing up and straightening my sweater, I enjoyed Castiel’s peace for a few more seconds before nodding that I was ready. 

The feelings returned as soon as the sound of fluttering wings dissipated. The ferocity of it caused my breath to catch. I walked slowly through the crowd, the two brothers shadowing me closely. Finally, after what felt like forever, I finally came across someone that I felt nothing from. It wasn’t the same as Castiel’s peace. It was empty, cold. I hated it.

“That guy.” I said, pointing to the teenager with facial piercings. He was leaning up against the store front as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Dean began to rush forward when Sam stopped him. “We still need to be careful with this Dean. Let’s get Ellie safe and then we’ll go talk to him.”

The older brother nodded curtly and called for Castiel. I smiled at the angel when he appeared. “Thank God!” 

“What about God? I’m Castiel.” The angel looked confused and I laughed. The innocence was endearing.

“She found someone.” Sam said to Castiel. “Why don’t you take her to the bunker and we’ll be back when we can.”

“Bunker? What bunker?” I couldn’t go to a bunker. I needed to go home.

“Where we’re staying.” Sam explained. “We have a spare room you can use.”

I shook my head. “I need to go home. I have work and things to do and a cat. I can’t leave the cat.”

“It’s best if you stay with us.” Castiel said softly. “We may need to find more people and we need to keep you safe. I can grab anything from your apartment that you need.”

“Seriously? Like my cat?”

Dean grumbled. “I hate cats.”

I shot him a glare and then smiled at Castiel. If Mr. Boots would piss off Dean, I was fine with that. “Okay. I need my cat and my computer. Get me those and I’ll go with you.”

Castiel nodded and disappeared, leaving me with an annoyed Dean and an amused Sam. Clearly someone enjoyed pissing off his brother.

The angel reappeared then, light orange fur dotting his trench coat and a scratch on his cheek. “That cat does not like being picked up.”

I laughed, “Well what did you do? Just grab him? I wouldn’t like that either.”

The boy I pointed out to Dean and Sam started to leave so they said their goodbyes to follow him. “Are you ready?” Castiel said to me. I barely nodded when he wrapped his arms firmly around me and in a warm gust of air, we were standing in another room.

I glanced around quickly, noting my laptop sitting on a little wooden desk and Boots sprawled out on the bed. It was a small room, warm and cozy but the walls were concrete. It was strange.

“Where are we?” I asked the angel as I walked over and sat next to Boots to pet him.

“This is the Men of Letters bunker. They were a group of people who dealt with the paranormal back in the early days of the 20th century. This was where they did a lot of research.”

I nodded, still having a hard time believing everything that Dean told me. There were a lot of references to demons, monsters and hunters. Boots climbed up onto my lap, nuzzling my face as he purred.

Castiel walked forward cautiously, “Why does this creature love you so much. You can’t even speak the same language.”

I laughed, “Sure. But if you give them what they need and you’re gentle and kind with them, they will love you.” I motioned him forward, “Here… pet him.”

The angel looked uneasy, but he reached forward and patted the cat on the head. Boots looked confused but nuzzled the man anyways since I was so calm. “See. He won’t hurt you. Just don’t grab at him.”

Castiel looked like he was making mental notes. “I can see the draw of having a fluffy little creature near you. They’re nice.”

“They are. He helps calm me when the emotions get to be too much.”

“Are you doing okay?” Castiel asked, sitting next to me on the bed.

I hadn’t really thought about it since Castiel had teleported us here. The familiar feline and the angel’s presence erasing the discomfort. I nodded, “Yeah… I’m alright.”

He brushed a hand up my arm, embedding more of his soothing feelings into my skin. “If you need me, you just need to call.”

“Like Sam did?” I asked, curiously. “You’ll hear me?”

Cas nodded and smiled, “I can hear prayers. If you pray to me, I will come.”

I was never a religious person, so praying seemed weird as hell to me, but I agreed. Castiel informed me that Dean and Sam needed some help so I should get some rest and he would be back later. I laid on the bed, curled up with Boots and tried to sleep. Even my dreams were filled with the blue eyed angel.


	3. Chapter 3

I awoke to yelling and cursing. Jumping out of bed, I shook the fog out of my head and left the room, making sure Boots stayed where he was. It took me a few minutes to find my way through the bunker, but I finally made it to the kitchen where Dean was sitting on a chair cursing and holding a cloth to his arm.

Sam was standing, digging frantically through a first aid kit. Waves of fear and panic hit me until my knees almost buckled. Finally, when I was able to at least push the feelings away slightly, I walked over to the men to help.

“What happened?” I asked.

“That stupid sonofabitch that you led us to was a demon. He fucking stabbed me.” Dean growled, before wincing.

I took the first aid kit from Sam, pulling out alcohol and sterile bandages. “May I?” I asked Dean, gesturing to his arm.

He grumbled his way through the entire thing, but thankfully the wound was shallow. Sam explained what happened as I worked. “Could you, like, get a hold of your emotions please?” I asked. “You’re anger is making this way worse.”

Dean huffed at me. “You try getting fucking stabbed. I thought you were supposed to be able to sense emotions? That wasn’t a soulless guy.”

My hands were shaking by the time I finished patching him up. The only thought in my head was wishing that Cas was there with me. The sound of wings filled the room before Cas was standing next to me. 

The smile that seemed to be automatic when he was around crossed my face again.

“Hello Dean. Hello Sam.” He acknowledged the brothers before turning to me. “You called, Ellie?”

I laughed lightly. With Cas around, the residual anger from Dean was gone. “We’re going to have to come up with a code word or something. If you come every time I wish you were here, you won’t leave.”

A light blush stained the angel’s cheeks and Dean and Sam looked curiously from Castiel to me. They must of taken it as flirting, and why wouldn’t I? The angel was handsome as all get out and he made me feel nothing but peace. It was amazing.

“Well… this is fun and all, but I’m going to go have a beer and sleep.” Dean said before stalking away.

Sam glanced at me sympathetically, his brown eyes soft and kind. “I’m really sorry about my brother, Ellie. He can be an ass. There’s no way you could of known.”

I shrugged, “It’s fine. I’m gathering that he’s got some things going on.”

“That’s an understatement.” Sam mumbled. “Well, I have to go do some research. I’ll be in the library.”

“If you need some help, let me know. I research for a living.” I offered.

Sam moved from his spot leaning against the counter, “We could give you a crash course on lore and set you up with some books.”

“Of course. I’ll be in there in a few.”

Sam nodded and left, leaving me alone with the angel. “I’m sorry if I pulled you away from anything. Deans emotions were just a little overwhelming.”

Castiel smiled. “I told you if you need me, I’ll be here. This is actually the second time I’ve been here since I left you.”

I cocked my head, “What do you mean?”

He looked mildly uncomfortable, “You seemed to be dreaming and called to me. When I arrived you were sound asleep.”

I felt a blush travel up my neck before taking residence in my cheeks. “I am so sorry, Cas. Like I said, we need a code word.”

“It’s alright.” The angel said with a smile, “You looked peaceful. It was nice to watch.”

My brain slightly short circuited at the thought of this man watching me sleep. “Oh. Um.” I turned away to get my bearings. “I should probably go help Sam.”

“Did I embarrass you, Ellie? That was not my intention. I don’t have a human filter as Sam puts it.”

I shook my head, still refusing to look at him. “No, it’s fine.” I took a breath and turned, “Would you come with me?” I asked, “I’m not sure I’m ready to be around those emotions again.”

Cas nodded and led me to the library where Sam was set up with piles and piles of large, old books. The only thing new in the room was the shiny silver laptop sitting on the old, long table.

“Ellie!” Sam said with a smile. “I’m glad you came.”

I nodded, “Let me know what you need and I’ll do my best.”

Sam had me look through lore books and search the Internet for some creature that I barely understood. By the time I was done, it was late and my stomach was growling insistently. I figured I would be able to write a full paper about this thing at this point.

The research seemed to help, because Sam and Dean were in a much better mood as we sat down to eat dinner. I was surprised when Castiel sat next to me but made no motion to get any food for himself.

“Are you not hungry?” I asked him, concerned that he was hurt from the fight Dean and Sam had earlier with the demon guy.

Cas shook his head. “I don’t actually need to eat. It’s quite off putting, actually.” I shot him a confused look and he explained further. “My vessel is human. So he had to eat and drink to survive, but I don’t need to. My grace keeps him alive and healthy.”

“Wait… So you’re telling me that this isn’t what you look like?” This whole day was turning into a complete mind fuck.

“My true form would actually kill you if you looked upon me. I’m using this vessel, Jimmy, to be able to be on Earth.”

I tried to wrap my head around the information. I was slightly confused and weirded out that I was starting to have feelings, at the very least physical attraction, more likely an actual crush on a being that could kill me if I looked at him.

My mouth gaped open as I tried to think of what to say.

Sam and Dean were laughing quietly to themselves. Since they were so used to it, it was probably common knowledge and no big deal.

“Wait… so who is Jimmy? Is he alive? Are you just hanging out in there with him?”

Castiel chuckled lightly before his face dropped. “Unfortunately, Jimmy is actually dead. He allowed me to posses his vessel and now it is more me than my own form.”

“It looks like you got this, Cas.” Dean said, standing up. “Ellie, tomorrow… we need you try to find someone else. Hopefully someone who isn’t a demon.”

I rolled my eyes at the sarcasm, “I really am sorry, Dean. I didn’t know there was a difference. I think I know what to look for now.”

Cas put a comforting hand on my arm and shot Dean a glare, “This can’t be easy, Ellie. We’ll figure it out.”

I nodded in thanks and waited for the brothers to leave before I continued my conversation with Castiel. He decided to give me a run down of the brother’s history so I would understand them better. We talked for hours, well, mostly he talked. I listened and I was absolutely fascinated by what I was hearing.

When his words started to blur together and my eyes became unfocused, he teleported me to my room. Boots gave a squeak of surprise before dive bombing under the bed. He didn’t come out until I settled on the bed. Castiel sat on the edge, running his fingers through my messy hair as I laid down.

“Do you sleep?” I mumbled, eyes half open.

Cas shook his head. “I don’t.”

I adjusted myself in the bed, trying to keep myself awake. I wasn’t quite ready for his calming presence to leave. “You’ll stay?”

He seemed to be surprised at the request, but nodded and removed his trench coat before leaning up against the head board. “I’ll watch over you.”

I fell asleep, more relaxed and comforted than I had felt in a long time.


	4. Chapter 4

I was surrounded.

The group of people surrounding me didn’t give off emotions like I was used to. It was a cold, unrelenting emptiness that caused my heart to pound in my chest. Their eyes were wrong. Black, red, yellow… no whites of the eyes to be seen. I tried to back away before knocking into someone that grabbed me.

I screamed, trying to get away but there was no where to go. My legs gave out from under me and I collapsed on the ground.

—

“Shh, Ellie. It’s okay.” 

My head whipped back and forth as I tried to get away. When my eyes snapped open, I saw nothing but Cas leaning above me. One hand was resting on my cheek, the other was running soothing lines up and down my bare arm.

I sucked in gulps of air, my lungs screaming. Castiel leaned closer, more of his body touching mine as he tried to calm me. I felt his warmth in every point of contact. His soothing presence finally sinking through my panic.

“Cas?” I asked blearily, reaching my hand up to rest on his hand that cupped my cheek.

“You’re alright.” He said softly, adjusting himself so he was laying beside me on the bed. “You were just having a bad dream.”

I almost chuckled. That was the understatement of the century. Flashes of my dream still played in my head. Unnatural colored eyes and blackness. “I think it was just everything with the demons and you telling me about the different type of demons.”

Castiel frowned. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware that I would give you nightmares.”

I cuddled myself into his side, enjoying the feeling of the firm muscles against my chest and belly and yawned. “It’s alright. I’m glad I know.”

Nodding curtly, he pulled me closer. “Get some more sleep. Dean won’t let us put off searching for another soulless person for much longer.”

I kissed him lightly on the cheek before dozing off again.

—

The next time I woke, it was to a whispered conversation. I was alone in the bed, but I knew Cas was still in the room. The peace I felt was a sure indication of that.

When I sat up, Dean and Castiel were speaking softly at the door. Dean seemed to be urging Castiel to wake me.

“It’s alright, Dean.” I mumbled sleepily. “Let me shower and change and we’ll go.”

“That’s not necessary, Ellie.” Dean answered, “Sam and I are heading out. We have a lead. Stay here, you’re plan B.”

“Oh gee, thanks Dean. I feel so special.” I grumbled sarcastically. Fine. If they didn’t need me, I was going to shower, read some of these fascinating books and take a nap with my cat.

“Cas is going to stay here to look after you.” He said before looking at Cas. “But leave your angel ears on in case we need you.”

Dean left and Castiel turned to me, staring at me for a moment. He was back in his trench coat and I almost hated that additional layer.

“Alright, Angel. I’m all yours, what do you want to do?”

I grinned at the confused look on Castiel’s face. “What do you mean?”

“Nevermind.” I stood up from the bed and started digging through my bag of clothes. “You want to let me know where the shower is in this place?” the bunker was huge and the only bathroom I had used only contained a sink and a toilet.

I felt the heavy weight of Castiel’s hand on my shoulder before I was standing in a shower room with him, clothes in hand. “Okay, buddy… that’s extremely convenient, but I still don’t know my way around this place.”

The Angel grinned, “It’s just my preferred method of transportation. So since I’m looking out for you, I figured this would be easier.”

“Cas… Sweetie, that’s great, but that means you have to hang out in here for me to finish showering in order to zap me back to my room.” The shower room wasn’t exactly private. Large stalls like in a highschool gym that had many different shower heads. “And I require a date before someone sees me naked.” I joked.

“Ellie, my intention is not to…” He seemed to stumble over his words which made my grin widen.

I patted him lightly on the chest. “Why don’t I call when I’m done? Or I can try to find my way back.”

“Call when you need me.” He said lightly before disappearing.

I shook my head. I would never get used to that. I undressed and grabbed a towel out of the shelf on the side of the room. As I fiddled with the knobs to get the temperature right, I contemplated what I was doing. This whole situation was weird and felt like a dream. Here I am, thrust into this completely strange situation with two brothers, an angel and a secret bunker. Oh, and of course my cat. At least he seemed content. Castiel had seemed to know enough that he brought Mr. Boots food and litter, so though the cat was confined, he was comfortable.

I washed my body quickly and then started on my hair, enjoying the feeling of the hot water running through it. I closed my eyes and rubbed in the shampoo, tilting my head back to rinse it out. “Oh Cas, what am I even doing?” I mumbled softly.

“Ellie are you…” Castiel’s deep voice cut off quickly.

My eyes snapped open. Cas was standing at the entrance of the shower stalls, his mouth gaping.

“Oh my God!” I shrieked, trying to cover my breasts with my arm. “Castiel, for the love of all that is good in the world, we’re going to come up with a goddamn codeword today. Seriously.” I huffed and stepped out from under the spray to grab the towel hanging on the side. I wrapped it around myself quickly, my face heating as I realized Castiel was still just standing there.

As annoyed as I was, I couldn’t help the flush of heat that ran through me. It didn’t help that the tint of pink on Castiel’s cheek was just so endearing.

“I’m… uhh…” he stumbled, taking a step back away from me. “I’m so sorry.”

He looked so embarrassed that I took pity on him. “It’s fine, Castiel. But if I need you to zap yourself to me, why don’t I say ‘Cas, I need you’ or ‘Cas, come here’. Something more direct.”

“That seems… appropriate. It’ll save me from intruding on you any more.”

I felt bad. Though I couldn’t directly feel his emotions, I felt like I could at least gather that he was upset or whatever the angel equivalent was.

“Castiel, it’s just skin. It’s not a big deal.”

“But you said you needed a…” he seemed to struggle to find the word. “Date before someone saw you naked. Isn’t that a typical human mating ritual.”

I couldn’t help the peels of laughter that left my throat. By the time I calmed myself, my stomach hurt from laughing so hard. “Castiel, that was a joke. That’s all. I promise, I’m not upset.”

Even though I was only clad in a towel, I walked up to the angel and wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning up to hug him the best I could. The man may be shorter than the brothers, but he was still a lot taller than me.

I leaned back and found the most tender expression on Castiel’s face, his bright blue eyes moving from my eyes to my mouth.

My name left his lips on a breath before he pressed his mouth softly to mine.


End file.
